Pedestrian Survey

Pedestrians are not only an indisputable fact, but a stimulating force in the activity of traffic-generating centers of the city. This is particularly so in the Central Business District (CBD). Since almost every person going to the CBD by car, train, or bus ultimately becomes a person on foot, pedestrians constitute an essential element of traffic. And the movement of persons and goods over pedestrian routes comprises an indispensable part of the CBD’s transportation system.

Like the vehicle, the pedestrian requires measures to ensure his mobility and safety. Where possible, his enjoyment of walking should be enhanced and his conflict with vehicular traffic minimized. In the past, these objectives have been subordinated to the more acute problem of alleviating vehicular congestion in the CBD. And because of the widespread absence of research on pedestrian volume and movement, their attainment has been grounded more in intuitive judgments than factual information.

While the advanced, computerized transportation studies have placed even greater emphasis on vehicular movement of people and goods in recent years, the pedestrian, largely because of the current interest in revitalizing the CBD, has been the subject of increasing attention among planners and traffic engineers.

CBD plans increasingly provide for special pedestrian facilities — walkways, pedestrian zones such as pedestrian bridge and pedestrian tunnel, to name a few — and some envision a pedestrian circulation system as efficient as that for vehicles. Recent studies have discussed the special requirements of pedestrian travel, and several in-depth practical studies on pedestrian activity in the CBD have been undertaken.

With the likelihood of this trend increasing, it is important to know more about pedestrians in the CBD — their numbers, habits, behavior. This report explores one rather elementary yet basic technique for gaining information about the pedestrian — the pedestrian count, particularly its several applications in planning for a CBD pedestrian circulation system.